Now that Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG have broken off their troubled relationship, known as Sony BMG, the Japanese company hopes to harmonize its consumer electronics and its music, a duo that was badly out of sync.

Sony Corp. said Tuesday it is buying Bertelsmann AG out of their 50-50 music venture Sony BMG for $900 million, giving it full ownership of a roster of artists including Alicia Keys and the increased ability to leverage music over an array of electronic devices.

HarperCollins President Brian Murray is taking over the duties of chief executive after Jane Friedman became the second publishing CEO to step down in recent weeks amid increasing pressure on the industry.

In a move combining user-created online encyclopedias with the printed page, Germany's Bertelsmann AG will publish what could be the first in a series of annual yearbooks whose content is derived from the many hundreds of thousands of user-created entries on Wikipedia.